At the beginning of our parashah, Rashi quotes the midrash
which says, "Yaakov sought to settle down in tranquility, but the
troubles with Yosef fell upon him. Hashem said, 'Is it not
enough for tzaddikim that the World-to-Come is prepared for them?
Do they desire tranquility in This World as well?'" It seems
that Yaakov was wrong to seek tranquility after many years of
wandering. Why was his wish improper?

R' Simcha Broide shlita (Chevron Yeshiva in Yerushalayim)
explains: We know that Hashem has set aside an unimaginable
reward in the World-to-Come to repay those who do His will. In
This World, Hashem demands that tzaddikim view that reward as so
great that they have no right to expect anything else.

Our Patriarch Avraham risked his life to fight the Four Kings
in order to save Lot. After he emerged victorious, Avraham was
afraid that his miraculous victory had exhausted his merits and
used up his reward. Avraham knew how great his own merits were
and he knew that a fantastic reward awaited him. Nevertheless,
he also knew that mortal man is incapable of grasping Hashem's
ways. Perhaps the mere fact that man was created is a great
enough kindness from Hashem to exhaust man's merits. Certainly,
then, a miracle such as the one Avraham experienced might use up
one's reward!

Yaakov himself said before he faced Esav, "I am unworthy of all
the kindness that You have done for Your servant." How then
could Yaakov think that he deserved to settle down in
tranquility?!

(Of course, Yaakov had a rationale. He thought that such a
life would enable him to serve Hashem better. What he failed to
recognize, however, was that Hashem prefers when one serves Him
with toil than when one serves Him in a state of tranquility.)
(Sam Derech, II, p.93)

***********

"So he [Yaakov] sent him [Yosef] from the valley of Chevron
. . ."

(37:14)

Rashi comments: Is Chevron in a valley? Chevron is on a
mountain! Rather, this refers to the 'deep' plan relating to the
tzaddik who is buried in Chevron (i.e., Avraham), to bring about
what was told to Avraham, "Your descendants will be foreigners in
a land which is not theirs" (i.e., Egypt).

This is a parashah in which all the major players make mistakes
that not only have serious consequences, but also seem to us to
be obvious errors. Yaakov openly favors one son over the others.
Yosef persists in relating his dreams to his brothers despite
their negative reactions. Yosef's brothers conspire to kill him
and end up selling him into slavery.

How could so many intelligent people - indeed, prophets - make
such blunders. The answer is that Yaakov, Yosef and his brothers
were all "playing into the hands" of Hashem's master plan. This
is what Rashi is telling us - every seemingly irrational event
that occurred happened because of Hashem's "deep" plan.

This lesson, that Hashem stands behind the scenes pulling the
strings of history, is so important that the Torah drew our
attention to it by seemingly making a "mistake" (so-to-speak) and
saying that Chevron is in a valley.

Another point regarding Hashem's hand in history: If we had
been present when Yosef was sold into slavery, we would have
thought it was an immense tragedy. Had we been present when
Yaakov traveled to Egypt to be reunited with Yosef, we would have
rejoiced. Yet, we would have been wrong both times. Yosef's
sale to Egypt was a good thing, for it led to his becoming
viceroy and saving his family from famine. On the other hand,
Yaakov's journey to Egypt was an unhappy event, for it was the
beginning of the long exile in that land.
(Matnat Chaim: Ma'amarim p. 56)

***********

"And Reuven heard, and he saved him [Yosef] from their hand;
he said, 'Let us not strike him mortally . . . Throw him
into the pit in the wilderness . . .' "

(37:21-22)

The gemara (Shabbat 24a) states that this pit was home to
snakes and scorpions. The halachah is that if a man falls into a
pit full of snakes and scorpions, he is deemed dead and his widow
may remarry. Yet, the Torah refers to Reuven's act as saving
Yosef!

In contrast, Yehuda convinced his brothers to remove Yosef from
the pit and to sell him into slavery. Yet, the gemara (Sanhedrin
6a) says that whoever praises Yehuda for this angers Hashem.
Why?

R' Chaim of Volozhin z"l (1749-1821) explained: Reuven caused
Yosef to be lowered into a pit full of snakes and scorpions, but
the pit was in Eretz Yisrael. Yehuda saved Yosef's physical
life, but he caused Yosef to be taken out of Eretz Yisrael. It
is far better, said R' Chaim, to remain in Eretz Yisrael
surrounded by snakes and scorpions than to live outside of Eretz
Yisrael.
(Quoted in the journal Yeshurun Vol. VI, p. 200)

***********

"And Reuven heard, and he saved him [Yosef] from their hand;
he said, 'Let us not strike him mortally . . . Throw him
into the pit in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him' -
intending to rescue him from their hand, to return him to
their father."

(37:21-22)

The midrash says (commenting on Shir Hashirim 7:14): "'The
dudaim/ jasmine flowers yield fragrance' - this refers to Reuven,
who saved Yosef; 'and at our door are treats' - this refers to
the light of Chanukah." What is the connection between Reuven's
saving Yosef and Chanukah?

R' Yissachar Shlomo Teichtel z"l Hy"d (Slovakia; died 1945)
explains: Numerous commentaries discuss the following famous
question, known as the "Bet Yosef's question": If the Maccabees
found a jug with enough oil to last for one day and the oil
lasted for eight days, the miracle itself was seven days long.
Why then is Chanukah celebrated for eight days?

One answer that is given (by R' David Halevi z"l, the "Taz") is
that miracles always involve making something-out-of-something,
not something-out-of-nothing. For example, we read in Melachim
II (chapter 4) that the prophet Elisha caused a small amount of
oil to fill dozens of jugs. He did not cause a miracle involving
flour, bread or some other commodity because the widow did not
have any of those things. However, because she had a few drops
of oil, he could cause the oil to "multiply" miraculously.

Similarly, writes the Taz, in order for the oil to "multiply"
and last for eight days, there had to be a drop left at the end
of the first day. This means, in turn, that less than one day's
supply of oil was consumed during the first day that the menorah
burned. Thus, the miracle did last more than seven days.

Of course, continues R' Teichtel, Hashem is capable of bringing
about a miracle that involves something-out-of-nothing. However,
the Taz's point is that to whatever extent a miracle can be made
to appear more natural, Hashem prefers that.

How do we know this? R' Teichtel answers: The gemara says that
the pit into which Yosef was thrown was home to snakes and
scorpions. How then was Reuven saving Yosef by throwing him into
this pit? The answer is that Reuven was counting on Hashem to
save Yosef. But, if Reuven was counting on Hashem, why did he
make any effort to save Yosef? Let Hashem do it! The answer is
that Reuven knew that Hashem prefers that miracles be lessened.

Now we see the connection between Reuven's saving Yosef and
Chanukah. Why do we observe Chanukah for eight days, not seven?
Because, as Reuven taught us, Hashem prefers that miracles be
lessened, and from this we know that some oil was left over after
the first day.
(She'eilot U'teshuvot Mishneh Sachir: Orach Chaim, Mahadura
Tinyana No. 24)

***********

Letters from Our Sages

This week's offering is not a letter but rather is an
excerpt from one of the early commentators' writings on this
week's parashah. The comments presented here are of
interest because they offer a rare insight into the
philosophy behind the particular commentator's work as a
well as an autobiographical vignette.

The writer, R' Shmuel ben Meir z"l ("Rashbam"; 1085-1174),
lived in France and was Rashi's grandson. In addition to
his Torah commentary, Rashbam authored a Talmud commentary,
part of which is printed in the standard edition of the
Talmud. Rashbam writes:

Those who love intelligence will discern and understand that
which our Rabbis taught us, "A verse does not depart from its
plain sense" ("ein mikra yotzai mi'dei peshuto"). True, the
primary purpose of the Torah is to teach us through the
allusions, the stories, the laws and the ordinances; also through
seemingly extra words, the Thirty Two Hermeneutic Principles of
R' Eliezer the son of R' Yose Ha'gelili and the Thirteen
Hermeneutic Principles of Rabbi Yishmael [which we use to
interpret those seemingly extra words]. The earlier generations,
in their piety, dealt primarily with derashot/hermeneutics, which
are of primary interest. Thus, they were not accustomed to study
the peshat/plain sense of the verses . . . As we find in
Tractate Shabbat, one of the sages said, "I was eighteen years
old and I had studied the entire Talmud, but I did not know that
a verse does not depart from its plain sense."

Our Rabbi, Shlomo [i.e., Rashi], the father of my mother, the
light of the diaspora, who wrote commentaries on Torah, Nevi'im
and Ketuvim, set his heart to explain the plain sense of the
verses. However, I, Shmuel, the son of his son-in-law, Meir
zatzal, debated with him and before him, and he admitted to me
that if he had the time, he would have to go back and compose
other commentaries based on the plain meanings which are revealed
every day. [Rashbam then goes on to analyze how his predecessors
interpreted the second verse in our parashah and to criticize
those interpretations.]

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